In today’s Pope Center piece, Jay Schalin takes a look at the ideas that incoming UNC president Tom Ross has set forth, and concludes that little will change.
One rather unsettling notion that Ross has expressed is that the university should do more to “serve all students.” By that he means be more “inclusive” for racial groups (those that are “underrepresented” of course) and also lower income students. In other words, the “diversity” mania — engineering student bodies through quotas to reflect the overall society — will find support at the top. The zealots for deciding which applicants to admit based not on academic capability and interest but instead on characteristics like ancestry and family income level will continue this wasteful and academically deleterious practice.
It will be a fine day when a liberal academic administrator finally says, “We have to abandon this crusade for group balance and just focus on teaching our students.” That day isn’t here yet.
